EcoJustice Radio

We are seeing a burgeoning interest in all things fungi, from consumption to materials-making, mushroom cultivation, fungal ecology and myco-remediation, particularly because fungi bear and represent resiliency, adaptability, and the potential to transform and utilize life as it is. Fungi possess the unique ability to decompose and recompose life itself.

This episode reveals interdisciplinary artist and mycologist Sam Shoemaker's venture into urban mushroom cultivation, and how his art has been informed by and become an exploratory collaboration with fungi. He speaks with our host Carry Kim.

*Sam Shoemaker [http://www.samkshoemaker.com/] is an interdisciplinary artist and mycologist based in Los Angeles, California. After receiving his MFA in sculpture from the Yale University School of Art in 2020, Sam started the urban mushroom farm Myco Myco. Sam's current work focuses on sustainable food for Los Angeles, experiments in biomaterial sculptural fabrication, and the cultivation of rare native and non native fungi.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://socal350.org/contribute-to-socal-350-climate-action/

Interview by Carry Kim

Intro by Jessica Aldridge

Engineer: Blake Lampkin

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Show Created by Mark and JP Morris

Music: Javier Kadry

Episode 93

Image: Courtesy Sam Shoemaker

Given the state of the environment, whether discussing soil health, biodiversity, food production, air quality, the impacts of climate change, or sanity and solace, it is critical now for humanity to embrace trees. Trees are essential to restoration of ourselves and the planet. Many of us are acutely aware of forest degradation and widespread deforestation attributed to commercial agriculture (conventional cattle ranching, soybeans and palm oil, in particular) taking place globally. In addition, in 2020, we witnessed the loss of millions of acres of forest due to megafires in Siberia, Australia and the Western part of Turtle Island aka the U.S. We are urgently being asked to remember trees and the vital roles they serve in our lives and environments.

According to the UN Food & Agriculture Organization: Forests cover 31 percent of global land area. Approximately half the forest area is relatively intact; more than one-third is primary forest (i.e. naturally regenerated forests of native species, w/o visible signs of human disturbance). More than half of the world’s forests are found in only five countries (the Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, the United States of America and China) and two-thirds (66 percent) of forests are found in ten countries. The top 3 countries with the largest forest area are: Russian Federation followed by Brazil and Turtle Island aka the U.S.

Trees are essential to ecosystems worldwide and to the continuance of life itself. This show contemplates restoring our relationship to trees, as well as caring and maintaining them longterm in urban settings. As megacities rise and human beings continue to concentrate in larger numbers in dense environments, we need to explore myriad ways to nurture trees and ultimately foster a culture that respects and celebrates their innate value to our present and future.

*Lora May Hall, owner of Full Circle Gardening [http://www.fullcirclegardening.com/], is a horticulturalist, an ecologically oriented gardener, educator, and ISA Certified Arborist. She is an advocate for green space in urban areas and improving the quality of the urban environment for everyone who lives there. She is on the board of Hollywood Orchard [http://www.hollywoodorchard.org/].

"Humans co-evolved with trees, and our interactions with trees shaped our history, our foodways, our settlements, and our very cultures. It is deeply hardwired in us to live among trees, in mutually beneficial arrangements. We have been in these relationships with trees for much longer than we have lived in cities, and if we are to continue living in urban centers, we must make a space for trees, and continue participating in this human-arboreal relationship." - Cameron Miller

*Cameron Miller is the Ecological Program Manager at The BirdHouse [http://atthebirdhouse.org], an educational non-profit serving as a hub of exchange for those interested in caring for the land and people, through arts and ecology. He is a student in Tree Care and Landscape Design at Mt. San Antonio College, a permaculture practitioner, and arborist-in-training.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://socal350.org/contribute-to-socal-350-climate-action/

Interview by Carry Kim

Intro by Jessica Aldridge

Engineer: Blake Lampkin

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Show Created by Mark and JP Morris

Music: Javier Kadry

Episode 92

What is meant by “Decolonization?” Not only of our institutions, but also of thoughts and behaviors directly influenced by the residuals of colonization. Listen to Marria Evbuoma of [https://racetozerowaste.org/] and Richmond District Rising [https://www.facebook.com/richmonddistrictrising/] as she explores the meaning and importance of decolonizing thoughts, actions, and spaces. How do we recognize and legitimately decolonize in order to ensure equity and build community for all? How do those who have been colonized go about decolonizing?

Marria Evbuoma is a mother, writer, and zero waste educator living in San Francisco. She is also the representative for her district for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s Citizen Advisory Committee focusing on waste water.

She recommends you check out these books:

"Farming While Black" by Leah Penniman of @soulfirefarm https://www.farmingwhileblack.org/ AND

“Decolonize Your Diet” by Catrióna Rueda Esquibel and Luz Calvo

We begin the show with an Update from the Frontlines on the move to transition away from oil and gas drilling in the City of Los Angeles with Maro Kakoussian, Air and Climate Justice Associate from Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles and the coalition STAND-LA [https://www.stand.la/] - Standing Together Against Neighborhood Drilling Los Angeles.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://socal350.org/contribute-to-socal-350-climate-action/

Hosted by Jessica Aldridge

Engineer: Blake Lampkin

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Assoc. Producer: Emilia Barrosse

Show Created by Mark and JP Morris

Music: Javier Kadry

Episode 91

In 2014, The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that global soils were degrading at an alarming rate and predicted that there might only be 60 harvests left before the world's topsoil and soil fertility was basically eradicated. While there is some disagreement around this assessment, most will concur that continuing soil degradation at current rates will further exacerbate climate change and exhaust our global capacity to grow food for the world's burgeoning 7 billion plus population.

We are losing the world's topsoil at an alarming rate of 30 football fields of soil per minute, which can largely be attributed to modern farming practices, especially the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, as well as widespread deforestation. This episode explores ecological succession as a means to foster our deeper understanding of the cycle of & purpose behind regenerating soil. Given the state of our planet, understanding succession, can aid us in becoming more attuned and aware stewards, and more effective participants in restoring ecosystems, increasing biodiversity, balancing the hydrological cycle, and nourishing the soil food web.

Linda Gibbs is owner and principal land manager of The Gardens at the world famous Woodshed Recording Studio in Malibu [https://WoodshedRecording.com/]. Linda’s depth of knowledge and experience in using the six regenerative soil principles, is applied to her practice and teaching of Permaculture, Biodynamics, and the Wise Woman Tradition of Healing. She is an ardent soil advocate for Kiss the Ground, a founding member of the grassroots soil restoration group, Soil Sponge Collective [https://www.soilspongecollective.org/], and a former teacher of the Gaia School of Healing in California.

She serves as a presenter and speaker on ecosystem restoration and offers a weekly Zoom Q & A on soil. Her home burned down in the Woolsey fire of 2018, however, the gardens and studio survived. Following this event, Linda dedicated herself to teaching others about fire resilience in ecosystems and buildings, and how Woodshed Gardens and Woodshed Recording Studio remain a green oasis due to the Soil carbon sponge.

Website: http://woodshedgardens.com

Linda on EJR: https://www.wilderutopia.com/sustainability/regenerative-responses-growing-the-soil-carbon-sponge/

More: https://gardenerd.com/blog/field-trip-permaculture-biodynamic-garden/

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://socal350.org/contribute-to-socal-350-climate-action/

Interview by Carry Kim

Intro by Jessica Aldridge

Engineer: Blake Lampkin

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Show Created by Mark and JP Morris

Music: Javier Kadry

Episode 90

Photo courtesy of Linda Gibbs

“Sustainable Palm Oil” is deceiving and does not ensure ethical ingredients. Palm oil is everywhere – in our foods, cosmetics, cleaning products, and fuels. It’s a source of huge profits for multinational corporations, while at the same time destroying the rich biodiversity of tropical rainforests and the livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and small landholders. Displacement of indigenous Peoples, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity are all consequences of our palm oil consumption.

Thus, the palm oil inherent in a purchase of a $5 box of Girl Scout Cookies is connected to child labor, deforestation and displacement, climate disruption, and human rights atrocities. But there are solutions. Our show’s guests are working to demand accountability from business and campaigning for solutions that support the climate, human rights, and indigenous self-determination.

Olivia Chaffin [https://girlsagainstpalmoil.wixsite.com/my-site] is a 14 year old Girl Scout, vegan, and activist. She became concerned about palm oil in 2016 when she learned about the issues surrounding its production.

SIGN HER PETITION TO THE GIRL SCOUTS: https://www.change.org/p/girl-scouts-of-the-usa-remove-palm-oil-from-girl-scout-cookies

Daniel Carrillo is the Forest Campaign Director for Rainforest Action Network [http://ran.org]. Daniel has worked over a decade in organized labor. He also has worked on international corporate campaigns in Latin America and Southeast Asia to defend worker rights and the environment.

RAN Keep Forests Standing Campaign: https://www.ran.org/campaign/keep-forests-standing/

More Info:

AP: https://apnews.com/article/palm-oil-forests-indonesia-scouts-83b01f2789e9489569960da63b2741c4

RAN: https://www.ran.org/the-understory/destroying-lives-and-stealing-land/

More on Palm Oil: https://www.wilderutopia.com/international/earth/palm-oil-and-orangutans-the-oily-truth-what-we-can-do/

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://socal350.org/contribute-to-socal-350-climate-action/

Hosted by Jessica Aldridge

Engineer: Blake Lampkin

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Assoc. Producer: Emilia Barrosse

Show Created by Mark and JP Morris

Music: Javier Kadry

Episode 89

An agreement announced in November 2020 paves the way for demolition of four hydroelectric dams on the Lower Klamath River, the largest dam demolition in U.S. history. This would reopen hundreds of miles of waterway along the Oregon-California border to Chinook and Coho Salmon restoration, critical and sacred to tribes but have dwindled to almost nothing in recent years.

In this episode, Regina Chichizola, Co-Director of Save California’s Salmon [https://www.californiasalmon.org/] and Sammy Gensaw, a Yurok fisherman, youth activist & Director of Ancestral Guard [https://naturerightscouncil.org/ancestral-guard], share the heartbreaking and inspiring 20-year journey to undam the Klamath River, which has suffered from low water flows, toxic algal blooms, and fish populations that now face extinction, parasites and disease.

The Yurok, Karuk, and other tribes, along with fishing groups and environmentalists, had hoped to see demolition work begin as soon as 2022. The latest plan makes Oregon and California equal partners in the demolition with a nonprofit entity, called the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, and adds $45 million to the project’s $450 million budgets. Oregon, California and the utility PacifiCorp, which operates the hydroelectric dams and is owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway, will each provide one-third of the additional funds -- and the Klamath will once again be dam-free.

Check out Guardians of the River: https://www.americanrivers.org/rivers/films/guardians-of-the-river/

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://socal350.org/contribute-to-socal-350-climate-action/

Interview by Carry Kim

Intro by Jessica Aldridge

Engineer: Blake Lampkin

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Show Created by Mark and JP Morris

Music: Javier Kadry

Episode 88

Photo courtesy of Save California's Salmon

In this episode, hear from emboldened and empowered youth activists, Alexis (Lex) Saenz and Yulu Wek of the International Indigenous Youth Council [http://www.indigenousyouth.org]. Listen to their stories of reclaiming and living into their cultural identities, empowering community, preparing for non-violent direct action, engaging in artivism, fulfilling the 7 Demands for 7 Generations, modeling circular leadership, prayerfully serving Mother Earth, and training up youth to potentiate themselves for the benefit of the collective's highest good.

In 2016, the Standing Rock Indigenous Uprising galvanized numerous Indigenous youth to protect their cultural lifeways, sacred lands and waters. Founded at Standing Rock by womxn and two-spirit peoples, The International Indigenous Youth Council (IIYC) empowers Indigenous youth to lead within their communities, prayerfully protect their heritage, incite social justice and effect global change for a better world.

Alexis Saenz is a mixed raced womxn, Indigenous and European. Although not sure of her direct Nations, she has been adopted to the Indigenous communities in the Diné and Oglala Lakota Sioux Nations. She organizes with the International Indigenous Youth Council LA Chapter as the chapter representative, fighting for Indigenous land sovereignty and climate justice. She also is Project Manager for March On Foundation and volunteers for the EmBrase Foundation.

Yulu Wek (they/them) is Nawakuskatanchanej, Lenca, and Galician and core organizer with the International Indigenous Youth Council LA Chapter. With mixed roots, Yulu has dedicated their lifetime to repairing interpersonal and collective relationships through understanding intergenerational trauma. Their work within IIYC LA includes facilitating talking circles, co-organizing cultural, educational, and art-based events as well as graphic design.

Resources/Articles:

IIYC roots - ABC Doc Standing Rock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rz_TkpysKk&feature=emb_logo

Resource List: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cXD4LlOHpYj6_Nfcdeq3gJ9N7zLFUrURkuYGrkQIFl4/edit

4 Directions Climate strike coverage - Indian Country Today - https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/indigenous-youth-council-s-four-directions-climate-strike-begU1BJ45Ey5fPUrZxNa7Q

Disney Spotlight: https://youtu.be/Ebzzp_RSqNw

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://socal350.org/contribute-to-socal-350-climate-action/

Interview by Carry Kim

Intro by Jessica Aldridge

Engineer: Blake Lampkin

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Show Created by Mark and JP Morris

Music: Javier Kadry

Episode 87

Photo courtesy IIYC SoCal

TUNE IN to Part 3 of “The Amazon Defenders.” In this episode, we focus on the Eastern Amazon and the Brazilian Rainforest where the issues of deforestation, road development, forest fires, cattle ranching, land invasion, soy farming, mining, and COVID-19 are integrally impacting the health and viability of the rainforest and its peoples. We hear about the vital stewardship by an Indigenous-led movement for human and environmental rights, and efforts to demand accountability for the six US-based financial institutions funding the destruction.

Ana Paula Vargas, who goes by Paula, has been advocating for more than 20 years with communications and culture, human rights, and social justice in Brazil. As Program Manager at Amazon Watch [https://amazonwatch.org/], she has collaborated with international institutions to support and promote projects from popular associations, social movements, and grassroots organizations. Now, she is living in the Bay Area, California, where Amazon Watch is headquartered.

More info:

https://complicityindestruction.org/

https://amazonwatch.org/news/2020/0326-coronavirus-land-invaders-and-missionaries-out

https://amazonwatch.org/news/2020/0714-the-munduruku-and-kayapo-are-fighting-to-protect-their-past-and-future

https://amazonwatch.org/news/2020/0702-mining-on-indigenous-territories-brings-devastation

https://amazonwatch.org/news/2020/1210-resisting-another-record-breaking-year-of-deforestation-and-destruction-in-the-brazilian-amazon

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://socal350.org/contribute-to-socal-350-climate-action/

Hosted by Jessica Aldridge

Engineer: Blake Lampkin

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Producer: Emilia Barrosse

Show Created by Mark and JP Morris

Music: Javier Kadry

Episode 86

Photo courtesy Amazon Watch

The urgency of our times is leading a “back to the land” consciousness shift inspired by Indigenous worldviews where urban people once again grow their own food and reconnect to the natural cycles of sun, water and soil. Regenerative agriculture refers to a type of farming that employs a culture of reciprocity, respect, and interrelations with all beings, going beyond organic to actively regenerate the ecosystem while supporting healthy, thriving communities.

Listen to Eric Tomassini and Ali Greer share their insights, successes and challenges farming an urban hillside in arid Southern California. Learn how regenerative farming restores the hydrologic cycle, promotes biodiversity, sequesters carbon, mitigates climate change, and accelerates the return of health and biology to the soil.

Avenue 33 Farm [https://ave33farm.com/] is a 1.2 acre hillside farm in Lincoln Heights, just outside of Downtown Los Angeles. They focus on selling nutritious produce and flowers, establishing healthy soil, and empowering others to grow food.

More Info

LA Times - https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2019-10-10/avenue33-urban-farm-grows-in-los-angeles

Sierra Club - https://angeles.sierraclub.org/news/blog/2020/10/soil_to_table_introducing_avenue_33_farm

Ave 33 Farm on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ave33farm/

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://socal350.org/contribute-to-socal-350-climate-action/

Interview by Carry Kim

Intro by Jessica Aldridge

Engineer: Blake Lampkin

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Show Created by Mark and JP Morris

Music: Javier Kadry

Episode 85

Photo courtesy Avenue 33 Farm

EcoJustice Radio celebrates the land and water protectors of the Amazon Rainforest in a Four-Part series called Amazon Defenders.

In Part Two, we investigate the story of New York based attorney Steven Donziger [http://donzigerdefense.com] who represented Ecuadorian communities demanding justice from Chevron-Texaco for one of the largest-ever oil disasters, where they deliberately dumped more than 16 billion gallons of toxic wastewater, spilled 17 million gallons of crude oil, and left hazardous waste in hundreds of open pits dug out of the forest floor. In an historic judgement, Chevron was found liable by Ecuadorian courts and ordered to pay $9.5 billion.

Chevron says it will never pay. Instead, they launched an extraordinary racketeering and extortion lawsuit against Mr. Donziger and the Ecuadorian attorneys and various consultants alleging they were all lying about Chevron's pollution and that the entire case was "sham litigation." Chevron has turned our guest Steven Donziger into a corporate political prisoner, placed under house arrest, bankrupt, disbarred.

We look into how Chevron, supported by US federal judges, is using retaliatory attacks against Mr. Donziger and the Ecuadorian Peoples, and how their actions set a dangerous precedent and represent a growing and serious threat to the ability of civil society to hold corporations accountable for their misdeeds around the world.

Links:

Donate to Steven Donziger's Defense: http://donzigerdefense.com

Amazon Watch: https://amazonwatch.org/

Chevron Toxico: https://chevrontoxico.com/

Make Chevron Clean Up Their Ecuador Mess: https://www.makechevroncleanup.com/

Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SDonziger

More info:

Vice Video: https://video.vice.com/en_uk/video/amazon-rainforest-oil-disaster-chevron/5f35d23cbfb3245f632e3449

David Sirota on Judicial Corruption in the Case: https://prospect.org/power/chevron-big-oil-power-prosecute-its-biggest-critic/

Chris Hedges on Corporate Tyranny: https://scheerpost.com/2020/08/25/how-corporate-tyranny-works/

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://socal350.org/contribute-to-socal-350-climate-action/

Hosted by Jessica Aldridge

Engineer: Blake Lampkin

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Producer: Emilia Barrosse

Show Created by Mark and JP Morris

Music: Javier Kadry

Episode 84

Photo courtesy Steven Donziger